{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"PsyberSpace® - we help you understand your world","title":"Sounds Deep, Says Nothing: The Science of Bullshit Receptivity","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/06aeb032\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":911,"description":"Bullshit Receptivity: Why We Trust the Wrong Words\nHost Leslie Poston discusses “bullshit receptivity,” a peer-reviewed construct describing susceptibility to impressive-sounding but meaningless language. She highlights Cornell cognitive psychologist Shane Littrell’s studies in which over 1,000 office workers rated AI-generated corporate jargon alongside real executive quotes; those most impressed scored lowest on analytic thinking and workplace decision-making, and were more likely to amplify jargon in a feedback loop that rewards BS-producing leaders. Poston connects this to earlier work by Gordon Pennycook (University of Waterloo) on pseudo-profound statements and cognitive defaults like initial acceptance and weak conflict monitoring, and to research linking BS receptivity with overclaiming, poor metacognition, fake news vulnerability (Pennycook and Rand), political slogans, and “scientific” BS. She notes Brandolini’s Law and emphasizes practicing analytic thinking, including restating claims in plain language, citing the University of Washington’s “Calling Bullshit” course and mentioning future coverage of pre-bunking.\n00:00 Welcome and Setup\n00:41 Cornell Corporate BS Study\n02:49 Feedback Loop and Examples\n04:56 Waterloo Origins of BS Scale\n06:12 Why We Fall for It\n07:55 Metacognition and Overclaiming\n08:41 BS in News and Politics\n10:28 Scientific and General BS\n11:52 Training Your BS Detector\n13:50 Practical Plain Language Test\n14:47 Wrap Up and Teaser\nThe studies referenced:\nhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886926000620\nhttps://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/03/workers-who-love-synergizing-paradigms-might-be-bad-their-jobs\nhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/on-the-reception-and-detection-of-pseudoprofound-bullshit/0D3C87BCC238BCA38BC55E395BDC9999\nhttps://sjdm.org/~baron/journal/20/200221/jdm200221.pdf...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/tfTZRMl-qAeSUK8tWME-JVPi2fZ9cCSCIKffGPEXHOY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzUxMjc3LzE3MTEx/Njg4NjYtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}